‘Insider’ tells students not to smoke

Sue Doyle

NEWPORT BEACH -- The real-life “Insider” spoke out against the dangers of

cigarette smoking Tuesday to a packed audience at Corona del Mar High

School.

Jeffrey Wigand, the tobacco industry whistle-blower who was featured in

the 1999 movie “The Insider,” impressed the high school students with his

speech -- which included the terrifying tale of his efforts to expose his

former employers and an equally horrifying list of harmful ingredients in

cigarettes.

“Most things in a cigarette you can’t put in a sanitary landfill,” Wigand

said.

He has been traveling across the nation, warning schoolchildren about the

tobacco companies.

“I plan to continue to speak until I put them out of business,” Wigand

said.

A round of applause followed his comment.

Wigand, a scientist, said he sees how “most things change,” but he never

foresaw how deeply that phrase would cut into his own life. It began 12

years ago when Kentucky-based Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company hired

Wigand to invent a “safer cigarette.”

He provided the government with inside information on how much the

tobacco industry knew -- but wouldn’t admit -- about the detrimental

health effects of smoking.

Since then, Wigand has started Smoke-Free Kids, Inc., a foundation that

educates children about the danger of cigarettes.

After hearing Wigand speak, some Corona del Mar High students expressed

anger toward the government for allowing the tobacco industry to continue

producing harmful products.

“It’s very sad our country allows an industry based on lies to deceive

the American population,” said 16-year-old Ashley Cona, who referred to

smoking as a “prolonged death.”

Elliot Patterson, 19, said it’s good to “know this stuff and about how

the tobacco industry is ripping us off.”

Other students were more impressed with the speaker who risked his life

to tell the truth. Once he became an expert witness for the government,

Wigand received death threats against himself and his family. To this

day, authorities cannot confirm the origin of the death threats.

“He is a model of the true American hero. He embodies the courage to

stand up for what he believes against seemingly unsurmountable odds,”

said 16-year-old Thomas Scheck.